


10,000 Years From Home

by yumberry



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Lance (Voltron), F/M, Galra Keith (Voltron), Gen, M/M, also pidge starts off with he/him pronouns because at the start they haven't revealed themself, i know thats regular keith but this one is like EXTRA galran
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-22
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2018-09-22 09:34:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9601928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yumberry/pseuds/yumberry
Summary: Allura, a brilliant leader yet barely passable pilot, joined the Garrison Flight School after encouragement from her long-time friend, Takashi Shirogane. When he disappeared on the Kerberos mission, Allura refused to believe he was really gone.Shiro returns a year later, though not in one piece, and with a desperate warning. In a crazy escape from the Garrison, they run into a cave covered in strange markings. Below them waits a Blue Lion, and in the cockpit a lost Altean prince, frozen in time.





	1. Kerberos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, because I'm an unstoppable disaster, I'm writing another fic, even though my first isn't done, I have three essays to write, and my own original stories to work on.
> 
> Anyways, this was inspired by the screenshot edits by tumblr user ashterism, which can be found here: http://ashterism.tumblr.com/post/156774136769/switched-allura-and-lance-i-realize-i-really-like
> 
> C:

Allura had known from the start that the Garrison had been lying about what happened to the Kerberos mission. The space pod burning an entry path through the atmosphere was only further confirmation that something odd was happening above their heads.

Investigating a crash site hadn’t been the evening’s original plan—she’d only wanted to go get some decent, non-cafeteria food with Hunk, and he apparently knew all the best restaurants in the near-by town—but she also hadn't expected to find her classmate, Pidge Gunderson, sitting on a cliff surrounded by weird scanners.

Today had been weird, in general.

She hadn’t even thought through what she was going to do before she was running towards the ship. Garrison cars were pulling up all around it, but damn it, she had been a star track and field athlete, and she would get there first. Pidge and Hunk, who’d followed her in panic, they were… not as fast.

“Get us an escape!” she yelled at them. They gave her confused looks, faces flushed from exertion. “A car! Hijack one of their cars!” she yelled.

She didn’t wait to see what they would actually do. Two geniuses could figure it out. But Allura, she had a pulling ache in heart that gave impossible hope for the pod.

_Please, please let it be…_

It was smoking, dented and glowing red-hot in places. A space pod shouldn’t be this banged up from atmospheric breach. Something must’ve gone wrong.

_Please be okay…_

She didn’t know how to open it. Garrison officers were swarming towards her, yelling things she hardly heard. In frustration, she slammed her fist against the ship.

The hull popped open.

“Takashi,” she breathed.

He… he looked so different. His hair, part of it was white now, a whole section. From stress? An accident? And there was a scar across the bridge of his nose. God, what had happened? Had he’d been forced to fight?

Shiro would _never_ fight if he had the choice.

The Garrison men were yelling, and there was a screech of tires behind Allura. She spun to see Hunk and Pidge skidding to a stop behind her in a Garrison jeep. They both looked so scared.

“Hunk!” Allura called. “Help me!”

He jumped out of the jeep instantly, jogging over to her. “Allura, what’s going on… that’s… is that who I think that is?”

“Takashi Shirogane,” Allura confirmed. “Yes, it is. Now, help me get him to the car. He’s unconscious and…” She trailed off. She didn’t want to say anything out loud, anything that could tempt the fates.

Hunk nodded and grabbed Shiro under the arms. Allura grabbed his ankles, and together they lifted him out of the pod. He was heavy, heavier than Allura remembered. Was that… a metal arm? It was shaped perfectly to match his other arm, which was bulky with muscle he hadn’t had before, either.

What had _happened_?

They reached the jeep and Hunk lifted Shiro into the back. Allura hopped on as Hunk jumped to the driver’s seat. He hit the gas hard and they tore off through the growing circle of Garrison tropes.

“What’s going ON?” yelled Pidge over the wind. “Why was Takashi Sirogane in an _alien spaceship_?”

“I… I don’t know,” Allura said.

Pidge stared at Shiro, taking in the scar and bizarre metal arm. “There wasn’t anyone else in the ship?”

“No, just Sleeping Beauty here,” Hunk replied.

PIdge’s brow furrowed, deep sadness passing through his eyes before he turned around. He muttered something Allura couldn’t make out over the wind.

“HALT! YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!”

“Shit, they regrouped!” Hunk said. “Pidge, you didn’t hear that.”

“Well shit,” Pidge said. Hunk sighed, hands tight on the steering wheel as he flung them around a rock. Allura threw herself over Shiro, trying to keep his rag doll body from hitting anything.

“You have to get us out of here, Hunk!” Allura shouted.

“Uh, yeah, working on that!” Hunk yelled back. “If you have any ideas, I could really do with some right about now!”

“HALT OR WE WILL OPEN FIRE!”

“Open fire?” Pidge repeated, voice cracking. “What the hell? We’re their _students_! Actually, why are we running at all?”

“The Garrison lied about the Kerberos mission,” Allura said. “I suspected it the moment the news came out. Shiro would never let such an accident happen. When I saw him in the ship, I… I knew we had to get him away from them. Who knows what they would do to him, to try and keep up their lie.”

Pidge didn’t look shocked at all.

“Are you serious?” Hunk yelled.

“She is,” Pidge answered solemnly. The jeep hit a rock and for a moment they were driving on two wheels. “Jesus, Hunk, I could drive better than this, and my feet don’t even reach the pedals!”

“Fine, then you take over!” Hunk said.

Well, that was an idea. “Pidge, get back here,” Allura said. “Hunk, I’m taking the wheel.”

The two boys glanced at each other, and then did as she’d said. She clambered over the back of the driver’s seat just as Hunk’s foot left the gas, and she slammed her’s down. Her hands reached the wheel and—

“Allura! The cliff!”

They were going too fast. They couldn’t stop in time.

The earth dropped away in front of them, plummeting far too many feet before the red desert continued.

All they could do was hope to land upright.

* * *

Dust settled and metal creaked. Pain rocketed through Allura’s body, tensing every joint and rattling her insides. Her vision was pulsing, she felt light headed… her head must’ve hit the steering wheel.

Pidge broke the silence with a cough.

Pidge! Oh god, was he… was Hunk… _Takashi_ …

“Is everyone alright?” Allura asked, coughing herself.

“I think my entire body is a bruise, but yeah, I’m fine,” Hunk replied.

“I’m okay,” Pidge said.

Allura twisted in her seat, straining to see through the disturbed dust. “And Shiro?”

Pidge shuffled around to put a hand on Shiro’s neck. “Still beating,” he confirmed. Allura sighed in relief.

They were lucky. Somehow, the jeep had landed on its tires (one of which had exploded on impact) and they were all alive. But… now where could they go? There was exactly nothing in front of them, and a tall cliff and decidedly unfriendly Garrison behind. They couldn’t very well _walk_ anywhere, not with an unconscious man and no provisions.

“I’m going to check if there’s a spare tire,” Allura said. She hopped out of the jeep, groaning as the impact of the ground sent another wave of pain through her. “Easy, there,” she muttered to herself. Her dark hair was a ruffled mess, so she quickly tied it back as she walked to the back of the jeep.

Again, luck graced them. There was a spare on the back. With Hunk’s help, she changed the tires, tossing the exploded one to the side. No proper place to get rid of a tire in the desert, so littering would have to do.

“Where to now?” Pidge asked.

Allura rested her head on the steering wheel. “Somewhere Shiro can rest,” she said. “Where all of us can rest. Tomorrow we’ll have to head for the nearest town.”

“Nghh…”

“TAKASHI!” Allura exclaimed, twisting in her seat and leaning back. “Takashi, are you okay? How are you? Do you…”

His eyes blinked open heavily. Hands shaking, he pushed himself up to a sitting position, Pidge awkwardly moving out of the way. “Allura?” he said. When his eyes met her’s, his lips turned up into a small, pained smile. “Hey.”

She was crying. Goddammit, she was crying. She wanted to hug him, but she’d have to climb to the already crowded back, and Shiro was injured. Instead, she reached out a hand.

He raised his right hand automatically. The sun glinted off the metal, and he paused, dropping that arm. He met her hand with his left. His human hand.

“Where were you?” Allura asked.

“I… I don’t really know,” Shiro said. “All my memories are a blur… my head…”

“That’s okay,” she said. “I’m just… I thought I might never see you again.”

He squeezed her hand and then pulled it back. He looked awkwardly from Hunk to Pidge, as if just now really noticing them.

“Oh! Shiro, these are my classmates from the Garrison, Pidge and Hunk. I know they’re young, but they’re both bloody geniuses,” Allura said.

“Pidge and Hunk, huh? Nice to meet you both, even if it’s under strange circumstances. You can call my Shiro.”

Hunk shook Shiro’s offered hand, but Pidge just fidgeted. Finally, he looked up, frowning. “Do you know what happened to the other members ofthe Kerberos mission?”

Shiro’s eyes narrowed, shifting back and forth in thought. “I… I know they got taken with me but… I don’t remember anything else.”

“Taken? Taken where? And by who?” Hunk asked.

Allura revved the engine. “Okay, we all have questions, I know. I have them, too. But Shiro has only just woke up. Let’s get somewhere safe before we start discussing all the things the Garrison doesn’t want us to know.”

She gazed out at the horizon, trying to decide which way to go. Hunk chattered nervously next to her (“Wait, what the Garrison doesn’t want us to know? Is this a conspiracy theory or something? What the hell? I just wanted to get crepes!”) Sandstone cliffs were everywhere, but would any provide shelter until tomorrow? Allura didn’t want to risk going to the nearby town; it would require passing the Garrison, or else going very far around to avoid it. And it was night, they were all tired, and driving that much did not sound like a good idea.

South. South sounded good. The cliffs formed a jagged line, and something told her they’d be safe there.

South was good. They needed to go south.

Pidge yelled at Hunk to shut up, and Allura snapped back to her body. Her mind felt fuzzy, probably from exhaustion. She put the jeep in reverse, backed up, and then drove south, the rising moon to their east.

* * *

Allura couldn’t have said why she stopped in front of the cave. They’d passed other caves, yet she’d kept driving. Maybe she was more tired than she realized, and her brain had thrown logic out of the window in favor of following whatever whims her feet had. Said whims were currently telling her that this cave was the place to be.

“Last stop, everyone off,” she said.

“Finally,” Pidge yawned. He lightly punched Hunk in the shoulder, successfully waking the snoring boy. They both clambered out of the jeep and shuffled to the cave.

Shiro put a hand on Allura’s shoulder and she nearly jumped out of her skin. “Are you okay?” he asked.

She smiled at him. “I should be asking you that,” she replied wearily. “But… yes, I am. Tired beyond belief, and still afraid I’m dreaming.”

“Dreaming?”

“That you came back,” she said.

“Uh, ALLURA?” yelled Pidge. “You, er, you guys should come see this!”

Allura and Shiro shared confused looks. “What is it, Pidge?” Allura called back, stepping out of the jeep.

“It’s like, uh, cave paintings?” Hunk answered. “But carved? And of giant lions? There aren’t lions in America, why are there lion cave carvings?”

“Lions?” Shiro repeated. His face twisted with confusion and memory. Then his eyes widened. “Voltron,” he whispered. Without an explanation, he broke into a sprint. More confused then ever, Allura sprinted after him. God, when had he gotten faster than her?

The three boys were standing, mouths open in awe, staring at the walls and ceiling of the cave. It was dark except for Pidge’s flashlight, but it was easy to make out the sharp, clean cuts into the sandstone.

Lions. Lions were clearly the main motif. Small human forms stood around the lions (or was it just one lion, repeated?), and above were stylized… hollow suns?

“What is this?” Allura breathed, voice full of wonder.

“These don’t look like any cave art I’ve seen before,” Hunk said.

“Could they be new?” Pidge asked.

Hunk shook his head, running a hand over one of the images. “These definitely seem old. The edges are worn, and they’re way shallower nearer the entrance. They’ve had time to be worn down by the wind and dust.”

“These are incredible,” Allura said. She walked, trance-like, to the nearest carving. Her hand brushed over it, and blue light blossomed under her fingers. She leapt back as the light took over the figures all over the walls, illuminating the cave.

Everyone was staring at her. “What did you do?” Pidge asked.

“I don’t kno-OOOOOOOOOOH!” her answer turned into a shriek as the floor below them lit up and collapsed.

Gravity snatched them and they tumbled into a waterfall. The icy water pulled them down, chilling them to the bone, until it dumped them one after another in to a muddy pool just deep enough to cushion their fall. Allura’s hair got into her mouth and eyes, and she blindly pushed herself to her knees, shoving her long brown hair back.

They’d fallen into a huge cavern filled with similar pools of water, all fed by small waterfalls coming out of the wall. And in the center of the cavern was a giant blue lion.

“Whoa,” Allura breathed.

“This… this must be it!” Shiro said. “This has to be Voltron.”

“Voltron?” Pidge questioned.

“The aliens that captured me, they were always talking about some giant weapon called Voltron,” Shiro said. “They’re looking for it. I think… I think they’re afraid of it.”

“Then, maybe shouldn’t we be afraid of it?” Hunk asked. “I mean, if a space-faring alien civilization is scared of it, it’s probably for good reason.”

Shiro frowned. “They’re afraid of it being used against them. We…” he looked at the lion, “we can’t let it fall into their hands.”

He stood up and trudged out of the pool. His metal arm, Allura noted, was working fine despite the impromptu bath. Shiro walked straight up to the blue barrier encircling the lion and placed his metal palm against it. Allura followed him, Hunk and Pidge a step behind.

Allura gently pressed her hand against the barrier, eyes fixated on the eyes of the lion. She felt like it could hear her, like it was watching her. “You’re amazing,” she whispered.

The barrier fizzed and broke, and a movie flashed before Allura’s eyes. She stumbled back, hands flailing for balance, and then suddenly it was over.

“Holy shit!” Pidge yelled. “Did everyone _see_ that?”

“Voltron is a huge, huge awesome robot!” Hunk said.

“And this is only one part of it,” Allura said. “Where are the other lions, then? Why is only this one here?” She frowned, her feet mindlessly bringing her closer to the lion. “What happened?”

The lion stood, its movements near silent, and then it bent down in a stretch, like a cat waking from a nap. Its tail whisked back and forth, nearly smacking the walls of the cavern. It walked in a circle, robotic paws padding softly as air on the ground, carefully avoiding the small humans in front of it. Then it laid on its belly and the jaw dropped, revealing a metallic mouth and a door. A panel unfolded into a ramp, and the lion stared at Allura.

She stepped on to the ramp.

The door slid open.

A tall, lanky boy with white hair and blue armor stumbled out.

His voice shook as he said, “Where am I?”


	2. Blue Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Blue Paladin makes his introductions and takes everyone to the Castle of Lions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop this took a while.

Everyone stared in shock. The boy had pointy ears and his eyes were inhumanly blue and pink. And his hair was so evenly, uniformly white that it couldn’t possibly be dyed.

“Holy shit is that an alien,” Pidge said.

“I think it’s an alien,” Hunk replied.

“Excuse me,” the boy said. “I’m right here, ya know. And I asked you a question.” He scanned all of them over, the pink in his eyes shifting with the light. “What’s wrong with your ears?” he said.

“Wrong with ours? What’s with yours?!” Allura replied.

“They’re perfectly fine and very hurt that you would imply otherwise,” the boy said. “Now, where are we? What is going on?” He hovered a hand over his side, and a strange device, sort of shaped like a sideways A, appeared in his hand. As he raised his arm, the device turned in to light and reformed as a bow made of shimmering blue light. “Or will I have to make you talk?”

The ground rumbled, sending tremors up Allura’s spine. The boy glanced back at the robotic lion. Pidge lost his balance and clung to Hunk.

“Is this part of Voltron?” Shiro asked.

The boy glared at him, pulling an arrow, also made of blue light, out of nowhere and pulling it back. “Answer my questions first.”

“Earth!” Allura said, desperate to get the fastened arrow pointed away from Shiro. “You’re on Earth. We don’t know what’s going on—well, I suppose Shiro has some idea—and we just… found you here. I’m Allura, this is Shiro, Pidge, and Hunk.”

“Earth,” the boy repeated. “That sounds… familiar. Quiznak, I really should have paid better attention to my galactic relations lectures.” He lowered the bow, but didn’t put it away… wherever it came from. Had his strange suit held it somewhere? “You aren’t with the Galra, are you?” the boy asked.

“No,” Shiro answered sharply. “The Galra captured me. They kept me prisoner for over a year. They took my arm.”

The boy sighed and let go of his bow. It vanished just as it had appeared. Then he smiled and walked over to them. “I am Prince Lancelor of Altea, blue paladin of Voltron. Pleased to make your acquaintances.”

“Lancelot?” Pidge repeated.

“No, it was Lancelur,” Hunk said.

“We have to get out of here,” Shiro suddenly said. “The Galra know it’s here, and they’re coming for it.”

The Prince’s eyes widened with confusion. “How could they have tracked us?” he muttered. He spun around and ran back to the still open mouth of the lion. He paused at the door, turning back to everyone. “Well? Are you coming or not? I need someone to catch me up on what’s been going on.”

Pidge gasped, and his face broke into a wide grin. “Ohmygod, really? I am _so_ onboard!” He sprinted to the Prince, Hunk only a step behind.

Shiro followed, but Allura grabbed his arm. “You can’t be serious,” she said. “We don’t have any reason to trust this boy! He could be part of those Galra for all we know.”

“He isn’t,” Shiro said. “All the Galra were purple, and unless I became colorblind in space, that kid’s not purple.”

“Him not being purple isn’t reason enough to trust him!” Allura argued.

“Allura, I hardly remember what happened to me in the past year. If this Prince Lancelor can help me get some answers, than I’m going with him.”

With that, Shiro stepped out of her reach and followed the other three on to the lion. They disappeared through the door, leaving Allura alone, outside. The ground rumbled again, and this time Allura could tell it was coming from the lion. But while before it had been more like a growl, this time it was a purr. She smiled in defeat. “I can’t not trust a cat,” she said to herself. “Even a robotic space cat.”

She stepped into the mouth of the beast.

Through the door, there was a turn and two small staircases up to another landing. Another door there was open, leading into the head of the cat, and apparently the cockpit. Prince Lancelor sat in the chair, holding a joystick-looking control with one hand and pressing several buttons with the other. Pidge was staring at everything with wide eyes while Hunk nervously gripped the chair. Shiro looked up as Allura walked in and gave her a reassuring smile.

The Prince looked totally at home in his chair. The wary aggression from earlier was completely gone, even if he was still wearing that strange armor. Everything had a soft blue light that suited him perfectly, making the strange markings under his eyes almost glow.

“So,” Prince Lancelor began. “First of all, to answer your question, yes, this is part of Voltron. Though Blue says she already told you guys that.”

“Blue?” Hunk questioned.

“Second of all,” the Prince continued. “You might want to hold on to something.”

Without giving them a second to do that, he grabbed both controls and put all his weight into them. The cat lifted off the ground like it was weightless, and in a split second, charged straight at and right through the cave wall.

Hunk and Pidge were screaming. Allura was clutching Shiro’s arm for dear life. But they were fine, and they easily flew above the desert and up and up and up, leaving the atmosphere with ease. The sky darkened until all the stars were visible, more stars than Allura had ever seen before.

The lion turned back to Earth. The blue marble spun so slowly, clouds twisting around it, and the sun looked so gigantic beyond it.

“Wow,” Allura said.

“Wow is right,” Pidge agreed.

“Lovely planet,” the Prince said. “You know what’s not lovely? Our guests.”

As if he could predict the future, a gigantic purple spaceship appeared from nowhere to their left. The Prince yanked the lion around and shot them forward, right towards the ship, before swerving at the last moment to just brush past them. “Let’s get these suckers away from your home,” the Prince said.

And with that, they rocketed past the Asteroid Belt, skimmed Saturn’s rings (they were blinding, and of course Allura knew that they were made of small ice chunks but it was different to actually _see_ the little things), and suddenly they were past Neptune.

“That’s Kerberos,” Shiro said, staring out at a small sphere.

“What? No way! It takes _months_ for our ships to get out here!” Pidge yelped. “I knew we were going fast but this is ridiculous.”

“Uh, guys? The other ship seems to be just as fast,” Hunk said.

“Right,” the Prince muttered. He quickly pressed more of the unlabeled buttons, and then space split open in front of them. Blue lights circled around a hole of spiraling stars. The design looked the same as the hollow sun designs from the cave. “Hold on, your first jump is always the worst,” the Prince told them. Then, before the Galra ship could fire, the lion dove into the spiral.

* * *

Lancel0r was worried. No, more than that. He was scared. Terrified. Anxiety was twisting his stomach, and he felt completely hollow. He had no idea how long he’d been suspended in Blue, and Blue wouldn’t tell him. No matter what he said to her, she just vaguely purred. Not a reassuring purr, either. A nervous one.

He had to get back to the castle. As soon as possible.

As they exited the wormhole above Arus, the largest Earthen, Hunk, spun around and puked. Lancelor cringed with Blue. These Earthens… Blue had clearly sensed potential in them, a bond to her that all paladins shared to all the lions, if she’d dropped her forcefield for them. Lancelur could sense it too. They would all do what was right when the time came for it. But would they have the bravery to join a war that was nearly lost?

The man with the Galra arm, Shiro, definitely would. There had to be some desire for revenge. Lancelor felt the same way.

The two kids, Pidge and Mister Vomit, would be scared. They were _kids_ after all. Hunk definitely seemed like the type to do anything to help people (totally a Yellow Paladin candidate if Lancelor ever saw one), but Pidge seemed more curious than courageous. Green would accept him, easily, but would he accept being a paladin?

As for the beautiful lady with the long, curly dark hair… she seemed cautious, and rightly so. Lancelor knew he was very trusting, so even though he’d lowered his walls, he couldn’t expect her to do the same. She seemed loving to a fault. And Blue clearly liked her.

Blue rumbled. _You’ll always be special to me, little one_.

Lancelor smiled. _Yeah, I know. Now, let’s go home_.

“—are we?” asked Allura.

“Huh?” Lancelor said.

“I asked where we are,” Allura repeated, frowning.

“This is Arus,” Lancelor said. “The current location of the Castle of Lions.”

“Castle of Lions? As in, the Voltron lions?” she asked.

He nodded, concentrating on finding the Castle as he directed Blue carefully into the atmosphere. The planet was just as warm and green as he remembered, but that village certainly hadn’t been there before. How long had he been asleep for there to be locals now?

Lancelor grinned as the Castle appeared, on the same cliff he remembered it. The forcefield around it flickered slightly, in and out of invisibility. The Castle looked dirtier, true, and dark, but otherwise the same.

Oh stars, why did it look so dark?

“Dad,” Lancelor whispered.

“Is that your home? Because no offense but it, uh, doesn’t look the best,” Hunk said. Shiro gave him a stern look.

“Are you kidding, Hunk? It’s a freaking _castle_!” said Pidge.

Lancelor didn’t answer. He landed Blue on the front square, where once there were gatherings and goodbyes, reunions and send-offs. Now, it was still and silent. At least the forcefield was working, and working properly, as it let the lion in smoothly.

He stood up to get off when Allura grabbed his arm. “If this is some sort of trap, or—“

“I didn’t make you come,” Lancelor said. He hurried off of Blue, desperate to get inside and see..

See what had happened.

The Earthens followed him, but he didn’t slow down. His speed walk broke into a run as Blue roared and the Castle doors opened. It was dark inside, too, and musty. The lights flickered on as he ran through, not hearing the typical greeting or the shouts of surprise when the Castle scanned his guests. Allura caught up to him easily, her legs almost as long as his.

No one. No one was here. All the lights, everywhere, were off, and it was dead silent, and there was nothing.

The healing pods. Cryostasis was the last resort, but if things had really gone south…

Lancelor slammed his hand to the control panel before it even turned on. He hit it, again and again and again, as the Castle slowly, too slowly, caught up to what he wanted. The panel turned on. Glowed dimly. And one pod rose up from the floor.

One. Why only _one_?

He held his breath. He couldn’t… he didn’t dare think about who he wanted it to be. Any choice was too hard, too impossible, because he wanted _everyone_. Perhaps it was good, then, that he didn’t have to choose; fate had decided who had lived some many years ago.

The pod opened, and a drowsy-eyed Coran stepped out.

“Hoo boy, that must’ve been quite the sleep,” he mumbled. His blurry eyes finally focused, roaming over the Earthens in confusion before getting to Lancelor. “Your Highness!” he cried. “Oh, thank the stars, you’re alright!”

Lancelor felt like laughing. And crying. He wanted to hug Coran. He wanted to drop to the floor and sob. “Coran,” he said, trying his best to smile and not cry. “What happened? After I left? Is there no one else left? And do you… do you know how long it’s been?”

Coran’s relief turned to regret. “Prince Lancelor, I’m sorry but… no, I was the only one who got to the healing pods in time.” His eyes drifted back to their guests. “Who are these strange, round-eared creatures?”

“They found me where we hid Blue,” Lancelor explained. “She likes them,” he added, hoping to sooth Coran’s suspicious looks. He crossed his arms, trying to inconspicuously hug himself. He felt like falling apart.

Shiro stepped forward, extending his right hand for some reason. “My name is Shiro,” he said. “This is Allura, Pidge, and Hunk. We found, uh, _Blue_ on our home planet Earth.”

“Earth, yes, I remember,” Coran said. “I am Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton Smythe, advisor to the royal family of Altea and chief mechanic of the Castle of Lions. Last I heard, you Earthens were just learning agriculture, but look at you!” His jovial expression hollowed as he realized what he had said. Shiro’s awkward extended hand dropped.

“Just learning agriculture?” Allura repeated. “That was _thousands_ of years ago.”

Lancelor hardly heard whoever spoke next. _Thousands of years ago?_ That wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be. Lancelor couldn’t get around the fact that Coran was the only one who made it into a healing pod, but that hadn’t meant that… that everyone else would be…

“Ten thousand years,” Coran said, so softly it sounded more like a thought. “We were asleep for ten thousand years.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made Lance's name longer to make it more... fancy, I guess? Because "Lance" didn't sound that alien or royal. All I could think of was Lancelot tho, so I just... slightly changed that.
> 
> Lance hasn't had a chance to be the goof we all know and love yet. But he will. Soon.


	3. Assignment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few days pass before the Galra show up at the edge of Arus's solar system.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the show itself, Allura assigns them all lions despite barely knowing them, so I've made the assigning-of-lions happen like a day or two after they arrive so that Lance might know them a little better.
> 
> Also, enjoy my half-assed explanation as to why the Alteans speak English. Because that always bothered me.

“Lance,” Pidge says. Lancelor looks up from his tablet in confusion. “It’s your new nickname. Lance.”

Lancelor chuckled. “Okay, Pigeon.”

Pidge stared. “How do you even know what a Pigeon is?”

“Hunk told me.”  
“That _traitor_ ,” Pidge muttered.

It had been a day since Coran had woken up. The two last Alteans had spent most of that time trying to come to terms with the… the truth. Now little Pidge was obviously trying to cheer Lancelor up. Or, rather, trying to cheer _Lance_ up. Since that was his “new nickname.”

Whatever a nickname is.

“How do you and Coran know English?” Pidge asked.

“English? I don’t know what English is,” Lance said. He flicked to the next article, one of the hundreds that Coran had collected from the interstellar database, or the Stellarbase. In an effort to catch up on the missed millennia, Coran had compiled, in his words, “the most notable stories and news, which may or may not be true, and in fact contradict each other quite a lot.” It had been hard to read at first, but after a while, Lancelor had emotionally detached himself. It was like a history lesson, that was all, like when he was little. Except, you know, it was history he should’ve lived, or never lived to see. History that should’ve been his future and present.

“We’re speaking it right now,” Pidge said. “Unless we aren’t. Though English is the only language I know. Well, I know a little bit of Swedish and Dutch, but neither are very good, and honestly I get them confused sometimes, so I doubt it’s either of those. More logically, the Castle probably has some automatic translator. But if that’s so, why don’t I hear whatever language you’re actually speaking? And how did we understand you back on Earth?”

Pidge spoke so fast Lance had to take a second to process everything he had just bubbled out.

“ _OH_. That,” Lance said. Quiznack, he was not the right one to explain it. “It has… something to do with the lions? My lion specifically, I guess, in this case. When Blue let you in, she mentally linked with all of you, and must’ve picked up on your language.Then she would’ve transferred the information to me. And it has to do with me being Altean. We’re, uh—what was Dad’s word for it?—a _diplomatic_ species. Good at changing to accommodate other species. We learn languages super fast. That sort of thing.”

“Does that explain why you also use the same time measurements, or is that just coincidence?”

“I’d guess it’s just Blue doing that best translation she can.”

Pidge made the most endearing expression. “She’s amazing.”

Lance nearly blushed for his lion. “Yeah, she’s pretty great, isn’t she?”

The door to the lounge slid open. Coran stepped in, holding his own tablet, nervously twisting his mustache. “Your Highness,” he said with a slight bow. It made Lancelor feel awkward now, when the only other people around were a bunch of aliens who had never known Altea or it’s government. Coran walked over to Lancelor and leaned in to whisper, “I think we need to talk”—he glanced at Pidge—“in private.”

Well, that couldn’t be good. But Lancelor nodded, told Pidge he’d be right back, and followed Coran out to the hallway. Lancelor’s cape nearly caught in the door; he was still so unused to royal clothing, much more comfortable in his paladin armor. Though he couldn’t deny that his fancy regal outfits made him look damn good.

“Prince, I know it’s only been a day, but I believe we need to discuss what to do about Zarkon,” Coran said.

Oh, anything but that.

“We know the Galra are still active,” Coran continued.

“How? From Shiro’s stories? The half-scrambled ones? Maybe he just _thinks_ they’re Galra. We have no way to confirm if they were. And there’s no way Zarkon could still be around,” Lancelor said. “Not even that _zuxüon_ -faced king can live ten thousand years.”

Coran closed his tablet with a heavy sigh. “Prince Lancelor, trust me, I don’t want it to be true either. But we have to be prepared for the worst. If Shiro is correct and those _were_ the Galra who chased you from Earth, then it hardly matters whether or not Zarkon still lives. They clearly haven’t become any more benevolent, and as you are the only remaining paladin of Voltron, it falls to us to protect the galaxy. We must find the other li—”

An alarm screeched through the Castle. Prince Lancelor nearly jumped out of his skin, and Coran nearly yanked his mustache off. Once they regathered their wits, they both ran for the main deck.

Pidge was close behind them, yelling something Lancelor couldn’t hear. Shiro and Hunk were already at the bridge, staring at the front screen.

That… that definitely looked like a Galra ship. A different design, but the same black and purple and curved spikes.

“How did they follow us all the way from Earth?” Hunk yelled. “I thought we were light years away! Don’t tell me they have wormhole making lions, too!”

“I sure hope they don’t,” Coran said. Taking up his station, he quickly turned off the alarm.

The doors slid open, and Allura ran in, her hair a tangled mess. “What’s going on?” she demanded.

“That Galra ship you encountered yesterday tracked you,” Coran said. “Luckily the Castle managed to detect them before they got within firing range.”

“Considering how fast they followed us across the galaxy, that’s practically our front door,” Shiro argued. His eyes lost focus, and his Galra arm tightened into a fist. “How did they track us?”

Lancelor realized he was digging his nails into his arms, hard enough to break skin. He let go, trying to remember all his training to not only look calm, but be calm. Calm like the moon-less ocean planet of Siganu. Calm like Blue.

Coran met his eyes, and Lancelor knew he was right. These aliens, these strangers, were their only bet for surviving this.

He took a deep breath, and turned to face the group of Earthens. “Alright,” he said. He forced his arms to unfold, and rested both hands on his hips. Allura looked at him with a cautious expression, as if not sure he could do what he was about to do. Well, he’d prove her wrong. “We don’t have long before that Galra ship gets here, so we don’t have any other choice: we’re going to be the new Voltron.”

Silence met his claim. His confidence wavered, and he started babbling, “I mean, I’m not new to Voltron. I’m part of the old Voltron. Though I was new then. Kind of. But I just spent ten thousand years sleeping in Blue, so I think our connection is pretty good.”

Luckily, Coran stopped him by bringing up the holographic galactic map. Pidge gasped with wonder, and Allura’s eyes widened. 

“Us? Voltron?” Hunk said. “I don’t think…”

“Whether or not you accept, the Galra will be here soon,” Lancelor said. He spun the map absent-mindedly, and with memorized movements zoomed in to the green lion’s hiding place. “But if we assemble Voltron, we have the chance to remain alive and free. And the chance to save the rest of the galaxy.”

“More like the entire universe,” Coran said. “As paladins of Voltron, you will be the defenders of the universe, and all its inhabitants. Do not take this lightly.” He glanced from the Earthens to the screen, still showing the approaching Galra ship. “Though I do hope you choose quickly.”

Shiro stepped forward, his Galra hand clenched. “I’m onboard. I’ll do anything to stop them.”

Allura glanced at Shiro with worry, but then her eyes hardened with determination. “I’m in, too,” she said, stepping up next to him.

“Me, too,” Pidge said.

Hunk’s eyes flitted between his friends as he wrung his hands. He looked at Coran, at the screen, and at Lancelor. Finally he sighed, and with slumped shoulders, said, “Either way, we’re dead,” he muttered.

“That’s the kind of enthusiasm I like to hear!” chirped Coran.

As the map stilled on the image of the green lion, Lancelor already knew who would pilot her. “Pidge,” he said, flicking the image towards him. “The green lion favors intelligence and curiosity, and is the guardian of nature. And you’re the most curious little guy I’ve ever known.”

Pidge grinned at Lancelor, and then at the image of his future lion. He poked the hologram, and Green got up and roared.

Lancelor pulled the map back out and zoomed back in to Yellow. “Hunk,” he continued, again flicking the lion towards its future paladin. “As the left leg of Voltron, the yellow lion is one of strength, endurance, and compassion. And teleport me to the next galaxy if you aren’t strong.”

Hunk gave him a nervous smile.

The map zoomed to Arus, where the blue lion sat outside, and the black lion sat in the palace, locked away. Suddenly, Lancelor was frozen in indecision.

Ten thousand years ago, Lancelor was supposed to inherit the black lion. Someone in the Altean royal family was always a paladin, due to their inherit connection to Voltron. But then Zarkon had gone rogue, and King Alfor had taken over Black, and Lancelor became the desperate replacement for his father, as the paladin of the blue lion. Now Lancelor had the chance to reassign himself what should’ve been his.

Except… except that all the Earthens knew he piloted Blue. They’d probably question him if he gave Blue to someone else, and Black to himself. What if they thought he was selfish? Egotistical? Maybe Lancelor sometimes played at being overly self-confident, but now he faltered. Besides, was Shiro a good suit for Blue?

No. He would be much better with Black.

“Shiro, you will pilot the black lion,” Lancelor said. Coran made a small sound of surprise, raising his eyebrows with a silent question. “The black paladin is the leader of Voltron. As the decisive and literal head, they must be calm and considerate.”

Shiro gave Lancelor a small smile, and the prince hoped that meant he’d made the right choice. But now Allura was staring at him, unassigned and clearly waiting.

“The red lion is the smallest lion,” Lancelor started. “It is the fastest and most nimble, and the hardest one to bond with. Once it has accepted its paladin, however, that bond is the strongest among all of Voltron. Allura, you will be the red paladin.”

It wasn’t that good of a fit, to be honest. Allura seemed much more cautious than was fitting of the red lion, but perhaps her steely determination could make it work out.

“Unfortunately, we don’t know where the Red lion is,” he continued. “But once the others are assembled, it’ll be easier to find it. We already have two of the lions, so we need to go and get the Green and Yellow lions as fast as possible.” He glanced to Coran. Could he really give these people orders? Would he really be able to properly direct them?

Coran, thankfully, stepped up. “The Yellow lion is much farther away, so the Prince will take Hunk there in Blue. The Green lion can be reached by one of the castle’s pods, so Pidge will go with Shiro. Allura, you should stay here with me in case I manage to locate the Red lion.” Coran met Lancelor’s eyes, and Lancelor nodded in thanks. Coran smiled, and clapped his hands together loudly. “Alrighty then, chop chop! No time to lose with the Galra breathing down our necks!”


	4. Paladins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The lions are gathered, and Allura discovers something unexpected about herself.

Allura was not happy about staying behind. She understood Coran’s reasoning, but that didn’t make her any more okay with watching Shiro climb into a tiny pod and disappearing into space.

_He’ll come back, he’ll come back_ , she told herself. _And if he doesn’t, well, at least we’ll know who took him this time._

Coran placed a surprisingly calm hand on her shoulder. His eyes had the same magenta center that the Prince’s did. “They’ll be fine,” he said with a kind smile. “The castle will alert us if anything happens to the pod.”

She gave him a grateful smile.

“So, how about an exclusive tour of the castle, ey?” he said. “I know all the ins and outs of this place, better than the back of my own hand! My grandfather designed this castle, of course. Genius engineer he was. I can only hope to follow in his footsteps. No, really, he had quite a long gait. Very long legs. Even my spectacular calves have trouble matching those steps.”

Whether or not he meant it to be, his chattering was a good distraction. The tour started like that, him chattering on, occasionally and abruptly changing topic whenever he had something to say about a column or light fixture. Allura drifted behind him. She felt strangely at home with this ginger alien, like he was a long-lost uncle of her’s. And despite the white walls and towering ceilings, the castle felt warm to her. It felt like a pulsing machine, but not as terrifying as she would’ve thought.

_Sksh sksh_.

“Did you hear that?” Allura said, spinning in the direction of the scrambling sound. Coran kept talking, not hearing Allura’s question. Seeing nothing, Allura turned back to the statue Coran was rattling about.

“Of course, now that it’s an antique, it’s probably worth at least twice as much! Or nothing at all. I haven’t checked in on the intergalactic economy, who knows what the riffraff think is art these days. Ah, and here is the memory holodeck. Altean’s developed a way to store a person’s memories, even after death, and this room allows them to be replayed. Our dear late King stored his memories here. I haven’t told the prince yet—I’m afraid he would become obsessed and never leave. That has happened to other people before.”

“I won’t tell him,” Allura assured.

Coran patted her shoulder and started off again.

_Sksh sksh._

Okay, there was _definitely_ something else moving. Allura turned to the sound just in time to see something like a pastel chipmunk scurry through the shadows and through the closing door to the holodeck. Without thinking, Allura followed, and the door closed behind her, leaving her in complete darkness.

She froze. Gingerly reaching for the walls, she whispered, “Hello? I know someone is in here.”

Nothing.

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Allura could barely make out the form of a short podium in the middle of the room. Above it floated the only light source in the room—a small, softly glowing blue spark. Her hands hadn’t come across a light switch yet on the wall—perhaps Alteans put their light controls in the center of the room. That would be fittingly alien.

She slowly made her way to the podium. It was cylindrical and cold, maybe metal except it felt odd, somehow. The blue light pulsed in time with the castle, and in time with Allura’s own heart. Cautiously, she reached out and touched the little spark.

Light burst from the base of the podium and washed over the room in a wave of white that gave way to green and fuchsia and orange and red and blue. A flower field of plants she’d never seen before unfolded around her and an alien sky closed the image. Allura hardly noticed the small, colorful mice that had appeared against the scenery, just as scared as she was awed.

The door slid open again. “Allura? What are you— oh.”

It was Coran, of course, and his parental tone dropped as he took in the sight as well. He stood in the doorway with a look of surprise and yearning.

“Is this… Altea?” Allura asked.

Coran’s eyes swept the room slowly before landing back on Allura. “Yes,” he said, voice so much calmer than before. “Did you activate the holodeck?”

“I don’t know. I just touched this little light… thing, and then this happened.”

Coran stared at her. “That shouldn’t be possible,” he said. “The castle—especially something the holodeck—can only be worked by an Altean. And as similar as you humans are to us, I doubt it could be that similar. Are you sure you’re human?”

“Yes. I have a human mother and a human father. No pointy ears or colorful markings. Normal, average, boring humans, all around,” Allura said.

“What about grandparents? Great-grandparents?”

“I’m _human_. Look, isn’t it possible the castle just… wanted to show me this?”

Coran gave her a quizzical look. Allura suddenly felt like an idiot. “I mean, this castle, it was just a guess but, unless I’m losing my mind, which at this point is quite likely,” she babbled, “it feels conscious. _Alive_. I’m not imagining this, am I?”

“Allura,” Coran said. “You’re not losing your mind. There is an aspect of this castle that is conscious. But the ability to sense that is rare even among Alteans. It’s almost exclusive to the royal family.”

Was that her heartbeat she was hearing, or the castle’s? Allura couldn’t tell. There wasn’t, she couldn’t be an _alien_. She was _human_. She sunk to the ground, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around herself. Why was she panicking? Why did this matter so much? She didn’t care that Coran or the Prince were aliens—well, she did care, because who wouldn’t? It was something out of science fiction. But she didn’t _dislike_ that they were aliens. Okay, maybe she had been overly mistrustful of the Prince at first because he wasn’t human, but that was natural, normal, expected. Right?

Coran’s hand rested gently on her forearm. His eyes were kind and somewhat protective. Allura suspected this was how he looked at the Prince. But of course he would, they were the last two of their kind. Allura didn’t need protecting. She didn’t need Coran to look at her like that.

“Shall we continue the tour?” he asked.

A manufactured wind brushed over the image of Altea. It was beautiful, and it felt so real, and suddenly Allura was struck with how horrible it had to be for Coran and the Prince. She had known, of course, that it was horrible. Losing your home, your entire people, was such a terrible story it was impossible not to feel sympathy. But now, surrounded by the fuchsia flowers of a planet that had died thousands of years ago, a projection of a history and culture lost, a semblance of the true pain Coran had to be feeling struck Allura’s heart.

She didn’t quite smile, but her face relaxed. She nodded and stood up. “Show me that pool you mentioned.”

* * *

Lancelor felt the moment the green lion awoke again, purring with joy at her new paladin, so curious and quick. Well, at least he’d been right about that pair.

“Oh god, is that the place?” Hunk said, pointing with one hand while his other clutched his stomach. “It’s crawling with Galra. You don’t think they found the lion, do you, Lance?”

Lancelor double-checked the coordinates. “This should be the place,” he said. “But I doubt they found the lion. If they had, Zarkon would’ve come immediately.”

“Oh, well, isn’t that a comfort,” Hunk muttered.

“Relax, the yellow lion will love you,” Lancelor said. “Blue says she’s through that cave. I’ll give you cover while you run in.”

“Run in?” Hunk repeated. “What? You can’t drop me out there!”

They were getting close enough for the outer patrols to notice. The alarm would be raised any second. “Hey, I said relax. As your Prince, that’s an order,” Lancelor said. He only ever really pulled the royalty card as a joke, but right now he figured Hunk just needed a push. The mine was getting close, 500 feet, 300 feet, 100…

“ _My_ Prince? You’re not my-AHHHH!”

Blue spat Hunk out, sending the human tumbling like a boulder towards the mouth of the mine. Lancelor flinched as he hit the ground, but Hunk bounced right to his feet and kept running. Some Galra troops gave chase, firing wildly. Blue landed on top of them, giving Hunk a temporary safe tunnel to run through. The Galra ships were now turning their full force on to Blue, but a quick ice beam sent them crashing down to the ground.

Lancelor took back to the skies, drawing the Galra’s attention away from the mine entrance. The firing lasers mostly went wide, but a few managed to hit Blue. Lancelor blindly fired another ice beam as he continued down the ravine. He turned sharply towards the wall of the ravine, and flipped around to head back to the mine. The ships on his tail crashed into the wall. Lancelor cheered.

Something hit Blue’s side harder than any of the lasers. They tumbled through the air, Blue hissing from the damage. Lancelor looked up to see a much larger ship coasting over him, heavy cannons whirring to fire again.

“Anytime now, Hunk,” Lancelor muttered.

And like an angel, the Yellow lion burst from the ground and tackled the ship. The intercom buzzed to life. “Holy shit!” Hunk yelled. 

Lancelor laughed. “See? I told you!”

The two legs of Voltron, reunited, purred in unison. “I’ll never doubt you again, Lance,” Hunk said.

“I can’t believe you doubted me in the first place. Let’s get back to the castle before they send in more.”

The two lions shot out of the atmosphere and through the just-opening wormhole to the castle. The starry sky shifted and the familiar constellations around Arus appeared around them. The Green lion’s presence now came from the castle, awoken and home again.

Lance and Hunk landed in the courtyard, next to Green. They hurried inside, Lance leading the way to the main deck. The door slid open, and there stood Shiro and Pidge and Allura and Coran. Hunk ran forward and pulled Pidge into a hug, instantly going into a ramble about how the horrible Lance had dropped him into the middle of a battle field and he had to run into an exploding cave.

“Any luck locating the Red Lion?” Lance asked.

“Funny you should ask,” Coran said.

“Is it?” Hunk muttered.

“It was actually the lovely Allura who managed to track it down,” Coran continued. “Turns out her family mixed with some Alteans a few millennia ago. Who could’ve guessed!”

Allura’s face contorted into a pained smile as everyone’s attention turned towards her. Shiro reached out a comforting hand. She leaned into it.

“I knew I felt some sort of connection to you,” Lance said, grinning and sliding up to her.

Her pained smile was immediately replaced with a look of exasperation. “I’m related to the royal blood line, apparently,” she said.

Lance quickly slid away from her.

Coran continued, turning to Lance. “And while you were never keen on learning anything about the castle or Altean technology, Allura here can operate it like she designed it. She helped me pin-point the location of the Red Lion. Now, there’s a bit of good news and bad news. The good news is that it’s nearby. The bad news is, it’s on board that Galra ship orbiting Arus.”

“They’re here already?” Shiro said.

“Yes. Guess my calculations were a bit off,” Coran said, pulling at his mustache.

A crackling sound filled the room, and the large window-screen flickered. A dark screen popped up, revealing the face of a Galra soldier. “Prince Lancelor,” the soldier said, “this is Commander Sendak of the Galra Empire. I am here for the lions on behalf of Zarkon, Lord of the Known Universe. Hand them over or I will destroy them and this planet.”

And the screen flickered off again.

“All right,” said Shiro. “Let’s not panic.”

“Not panic!?” Hunk said. “The scary aliens are circling over our heads, we only have four lions—“

“Technically, only three working lions,” Pidge pointed out.

“Yes, thank you, Pidge,” Hunk sighed. “And a castle that’s 10,000 years old!”

“It’s 10,600 years old,” Allura said. “Coran told me.”

“Thanks, Allura. See? We’re bare bones here, and they’ve got an up-to date, future space tech battle ship!”

“Hey, this castle can hold its own in a fight,” Lance said.

Coran nodded. “It’s mostly defensive, but the prince is right. There’s a particle barrier we can put up, though it won’t hold long against that ion canon. That thing is far more advanced than anything around when this castle was built.”

“Ion canon?” Pidge said, sounding way too curious and not nearly scared enough.

“Can we panic now?” Hunk asked.

“No, we just got to figure out a plan of action quickly,” Shiro said.

“I say we run and live to fight another day, then,” Hunk said. “Figure out a way to get to the Black lion even without the Red, and then go after Sendak.”

“We can’t abandon this planet!” Pidge said.

“I second that,” Allura said. “I can’t leave a planet to be destroyed when we could be doing something. I’m getting that Red lion.”

“Maybe if we leave, Sendak will follow us and leave Arus alone,” Hunk offered. “Like back at Earth.”

“He’s already threatened to destroy Arus. He’s going to make good on that promise if only to show that he _can_. We have to stay,” Allura argued.

“Prince, what do you think?” Shiro said.

All eyes turned to Lance. He ran a hand through his white hair. He wanted to run. But he also wanted to stop running. He’d spent ten thousand years sleeping, hiding. How many other planets had been conquered in that time? How many people killed?

“You four found me on Earth for a reason,” Lance said. “Blue called you there. The Lions are meant to be piloted by us. We have to fight Sendak, and the rest of the Galra Empire, until the universe is free. Voltron is its only hope.”

Allura smiled at him. Hunk’s mouth drew into a thin line.

“Hear hear,” Pidge agreed.

“We’re with you, Prince,” Shiro said.

“Do we get suits of armor like yours?” Pidge asked.

“Absolutely,” Lance said. “Let’s suit up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Looks off to the horizon* When will my Keith return from war?


	5. The Red Lion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Paladins approach the Galra. Allura finds the Red Lion and... something unexpected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit this took a while! Uhhh yeah the last school term was right terrible for me, honestly. I was busy and when I wasn't I just wanted to sleep. This chapter is a bit short (I think???) but, uh, at least it's here!

“Attention Commander Sendak. Do not fire. We’re surrendering our lions,” Lance said. Allura, in the Green Lion with Pidge and Shiro, held her breath as the two legs of Voltron approached the front of the Galra ship.

“They’ll be fine,” Shiro said.

“I feel bad for the Yellow Lion,” Pidge said. “I wonder how many times Hunk has puked so far?”

“Oh, disgusting,” Allura groaned.

“Exactly. Poor Yellow,” Pidge said. “Okay, according to my scans, the hull should be pretty thin right here.” He turned the Green Lion over (a weird sensation—Allura’s eyes told her she was turning upside down, but the direction of gravity didn’t change) and snapped the magnetic paws to the Galra ship. The three of them closed the helmets of their paladin suits and exited.

It was terrifying, to say the least, to be floating loosely in space. The jetpacks on their backs was only a small assurance to Allura. She put all her focus on watching Pidge use his bayard—a short katar—to cut a hole in the ship. With a jetpack kick, the loose metal floated inwards.

From the outer shell of the hull, they climbed in through a maintenance door, and then they were out of the vacuum of space. The artificial gravity kicked in and the dropped to the floor. “Do you sense the lion yet?” Pidge asked.

Allura paused, closing her eyes and trying to feel whatever it was she was supposed to be feeling. A pull, a tingle, a whisper. Nothing.

She shook her head.

“We’re probably still too far away. We need to get deeper into the ship,” Shiro said. Allura and Pidge nodded, and the three of them took off down the hall.

The farther in they got, the more intricate the hallways grew. Everything was awash in the creepy purple glow that seemed to be the trademark of the Galra, making the red on Allura’s armor look more magenta. Every once and a while, robotic guards would march by, seeming unbothered by the brawl that was happening between the ship and the lions.

Shiro stopped suddenly, eyes staring at nothing. “I’ve… been here before,” he said.

Allura didn’t know how he could tell. “Are you sure? This hallway looks exactly like the last twenty we ran through.”

Shiro kept looking around, as if he could pick out each imperfection of the hall. “Yes, I’m sure of it. I was here when I was first captured. The prison cells were that way, they had us thrown in with a bunch of other aliens…”

“ _Us_?” Pidge repeated. “The Holts?”

Shiro nodded.

“We have to go,” Pidge said. “We have to go get them out!”

“Pidge, I understand wanting to save prisoners, but we’re a bit tight on time now,” Allura said.

“Why? You’re the only one who needs to find the Red lion and get it out of here. Shiro and I can go get the prisoners and make it back to Green easily!”

“We can’t risk—” Shiro started.

“They’re my family!” Pidge almost shouted. “Matt is my older brother. I can’t leave them here.”

Allura stared at Pidge, and then at Shiro. She hadn’t seen that coming.

Shiro sighed. “Okay then, change of plans. Allura, you’ll have to get to the Red lion on your own. Not that we would’ve been able to help you much.”

“I… I still don’t _sense_ anything,” she said.

“You’ll find the lion. Belief in yourself is the strongest thing you have.”

Allura smiled at him.

Shiro and Pidge ran off down the hall, and Allura turned the opposite way. “Alright, Red,” she whispered to the air. “I know we haven’t met yet, but I’d like to. So where are you?”

Instantly she felt a pulse, like the beginning of a headache at the base of her skull. With it came a flash of red and a pull. A direction.

“There you are,” Allura said with a smile. She took off in a sprint.

By some crazy luck, she didn’t run into any guards. She shot straight to the Red lion, confidence growing with every step. She would reclaim this lion from the Galra and use it to fight back, for what they did to Shiro, for what they did to Coran and the Prince.

The lion sat in a large hangar, like a ship they expected to deploy. But the large particle barrier around it, like the one that had been around Blue, suggested that no Galran had made a connection. Allura walked forward and pressed her hand against the barrier like she had done with Blue.

Nothing.

“Hello?” she said. “We’re in a bit of a hurry, so if you would please open up, that would be grand.”

Still nothing.

“You called me over here, and now you refuse to let me in? I’m trying… I need to get out there and help everyone! Please!”

She threw both her fists at the barrier. She didn’t feel the eyes of the lion on her like she’d felt Blue’s.

The door to the hanger slid open behind her. Allura spun, activating her bayard. Robotic soldiers poured in, followed by a Galran in dark violet armor with red highlights. The one Galran looked young, Allura thought, though she didn’t know anything about how Galrans aged. But this one looked more… human than the commander of the ship had. He had black hair in a low ponytail, cat-like ears, and purple skin. His glaring eyes weren’t solid yellow like the commander’s, but had white sclera and indigo irises.

“Stand down now and perhaps you’ll be granted mercy,” he said. The robots had spread out, blocking her against Red’s barrier.

“This lion does not belong to you,” Allura said.

“It doesn’t belong to some _human_ , either.”

Well, he was right about that, since Red had locked Allura out. But she had been given the task to get the Red Lion out of Galra hands, and she wasn’t going to let anyone down.

She ran forward, lashing her bayard forward. The energy whip swung forward, slicing through two robots like butter. The others started firing, and Allura dropped and rolled towards a console. The Galran ran towards her, holding a dark sword. As Allura got back to her feet, he swung at her, and she swung her whip in retaliation. The blue light wrapped around the blade, and Allura pulled. 

Instead of being dragged with his sword, the Galran let go immediately and reached to his belt, pulling out a dagger with a glowing rune on the hilt. His knees bent low, and before Allura could get the sword out of her bayard, he was on her. She swung the whip wildly, but he ducked under the flying sword easily. The sword flew from the whip and clattered against the console.

The console! If she could just get to it…

She yelped as her opponent’s dagger came within an inch of her face. Her bayard was not good this close up. She deactivated it and swung the plain bayard at the Galran. He dodged easily, but she met him with her other hand.

This close, he definitely looked human. Like a teenager. Not a soldier. Allura hesitated, just for a moment, in her kick to the backs of his knees. His face flashed with confusion, and he took that split second to dive forward. Unbalanced, Allura toppled backwards. She caught herself on the console, and felt something sink under her hand.

The Galra boy’s eyes widened and he ran towards the hanger door. The floor opened up to empty space. All the robotic soldiers were immediately sucked out. Allura scrambled desperately to cling to the counsel, but it had nothing to grab, and her hands slipped right off.

She quickly closed her helmet as she tumbled into the void. The ship filled her view, then a sky of distant stars, then the ship again. She knew the armor had jetpacks, but she couldn’t remember how to turn it on, and who knows which way she’d end up flying?

A hand grabbed her shoulder, slowing her spinning. When her vision stopped dancing, Allura saw the Galra boy in front of her.

He gestured upwards with a nod of his head. She didn’t understand. Why had he come after her when they had just been fighting? He seemed to sigh, and point more sharply back towards the ship.

He froze, staring at something behind her. Before she could try to turn to see what it was, she caught the reflection in his helmet.

The Red lion caught them both with a single bite.

Allura collapsed to the floor of Red, breathing heavily in relief. The Galra boy looked as stunned as she felt.

“This thing is _alive_ ,” he whispered.

Allura blinked at him. “I… what?”

The boy ran to the cockpit. Allura followed, but by the time she caught up, the boy was sitting down in the pilot’s chair.

“Excuse me, what do you think you’re…”

The boy pulled on the sticks and the lion shot forward. Allura grabbed the chair for balance and stared at him. Had Red… had the lion…

“ _Woohoo! Allura, you finally made it!_ ” Pidge yelled over the intercom.

“ _Yeah, mind helping?_ ” Hunk added.

Allura grimaced. How would she explain this? “Er, about that…” she said. “Hey, where do you think you’re taking us?!” she snapped at the Galra boy.

They were rocketing away from the Galra ship, but also away from Arus. The boy glared at her. “Away from the fighting,” he said.

“ _Allura? What’s going on? Where are you going?”_ Lance said.

“Turn this lion around,” Allura ordered. “I have to help my friends!”

“They’re _your_ friends. You go help them,” the boy said.

“How do you expect me to do that when you’ve taken over my lion?!”

“It was never yours! And your friends are fighting a losing war. Even if they win this battle, they can’t win another. You are underestimating the Galra if you think you have any hope of victory.”

Allura glared at him. His not-quite alien eyes glared back. “My name’s Allura,” she said. “What’s yours?”

His glare turned suspicious. “Keith,” he finally said, his ears flattened backwards.

She nodded. “Alright, _Keith_. I don’t know why you dived after me back there, or why you haven’t already kicked me out of this lion. Whatever the reason, I don’t think I’d be too far off to say that you clearly aren’t terribly loyal to Zarkon. So let me tell you: my friends out there are the universe’s best hope for freedom. They are risking their lives as you run away. I am not going to abandon them, and if that means I have to fight you again, right here, I will.”

Keith stared at her. He closed his eyes, sighed, and stood up. “They’d chase us down eventually, anyways,” he muttered. “We either die now or in the near future, what difference does it make?”

Allura reached out to pat him on the shoulder but stopped. She didn’t know what Galran personal boundaries were; best not to test them right now. Instead, she simply nodded and sat down with a soft, “Thank you."

She grabbed the controls, still slightly warm from Keith’s body heat. She tilted them to the right, and the lion swung around like a fish in water. The fight came back into view, and Allura shot them into the fray.


End file.
